


It's Cold and Lonely Here

by breathedeep222



Category: EOS 10 (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash, kitty cat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 16:36:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6202783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breathedeep222/pseuds/breathedeep222
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan feels guilty that he only ever seeks Akmazian out when he needs something, so he decides to start making up for it.</p>
<p>Post Season 2 Episode 10.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Cold and Lonely Here

**Author's Note:**

> I finally caught up so of course the appropriate reaction is to write fic.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Son of a-" Ryan jumped, nearly dropping Morpheus in the process. "Don't do that!"

Akmazian stepped around from behind him. "You were the one skulking around my lair."

"I was not skulking!" He had been in the cargo bay for less than a minute and he already regretted it. "I was looking for you."

"Which makes you jumping at the sound of my voice that much more concerning. You'd think a great surgeon like you would have a bit more nerve. Is the saucier rubbing off on you?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Look, I can leave if you'd prefer it."

"Hey now," Akmazian interjected quickly, smirk wide, "I'm just teasing." Akmazian looked at the squirming cat in his arms. "Why are you here? There's nothing wrong with the little guy, is there? I have a lot of talents, but veterinary care isn't one of them."

Ryan's stomach curdled. Of course, the first thing his mind jumped to was a favor. That was the whole reason Ryan was here. "No one ever visits unless they need something." That sentence had been haunting him for days. 

It was easy for Ryan to go days, hell, even weeks, with very little free time. He was constantly running around attending to patients, or whatever (probably Levi induced) emergency popped up that day. But, he found time to chat with Jane about her latest "date" with Dr. Osolong, or to check up on Dr. Urvidian, or even listen to Levi's worries. He could pay his friend a visit once in awhile. 

"I wouldn't think so. Morpheus is fine." He raised the to go cafeteria container in his hand. "I thought you might want to have dinner." 

"Oh." Akmazian paused and looked Ryan over as if he were waiting for another motive to reveal itself. When Ryan didn't say anything further, he seemed to accept the offer as truth. "Well, I don't exactly have a dining room down here, but feel free to pull up some floor."

Ryan chuckled and the knot in his stomach uncurled. So did the cat in his arms, fed up with being held for so long. The ex-terrorist dragged a small crate over to the wall to use as a makeshift table, and they both sat down. Immediately Morpheus wandered over to sniff at Akmazian curiously.

"Hey there little fella. Nice seeing you again." Morpheus leaned into the waiting hand and accepted the gentle stroke.

"Aww, he likes you," Ryan said as he unpacked the food. He bought a few choices from the cafeteria, not sure what Akmazian enjoyed.

"You sound surprised. Does he generally not like people?"

"He's not used to them." Morpheus had wandered over to him at the smell of food and Ryan ran a hand down his back. "I keep him in my quarters so he doesn't see people very often. He's a bit wary around Jane, and he hasn't met Dr. Urvidian yet. And he _hates_ Levi. It's hilarious."

Akmazian laughed. "Shame I never got to see that." 

They took a minute to serve themselves and get situated. He had been hoping to get a sense for Akmazian's eating preferences by watching his choices, but Akmazian ended up piling his plate with a little of everything, so that was a no go.Morpheus ended up curled up next to Akmazian, strangely comfortable around him. It probably helped he was feeding him bits of meat off his plate.

"Huh, this is actually pretty good." Akmazian said while tasting some of the marinade. "Levi actually made this?"

"Yup. He's gotten pretty good. He seems to really enjoy cooking. Some of his experiments are...questionable, for sure, but you can't doubt his effort."

Their makeshift table was small, causing their arms to constantly bump into each other as they ate or reached for things. The tenth time this happened Akmazian chuckled and moved his plate to the floor instead.

"Sorry. I usually eat alone."

"It's fine. I know conditions aren't exactly...ideal, down here."

"Life of a famous terrorist not as glamorous as you imagined?"

"You're not a terrorist." Ryan couldn't help how vehement he sounded, but he didn't testify on Akmazian's behalf lightly.

The man in question gave him a warm, fond smile, but didn't say anything else.

They continued eating and chatting. Akmazian didn't tell him much about what he had been up to, for obvious reasons. Thankfully, Ryan had plenty of crazy stories about his various patients to fill the time.

Soon, they were both leaning against the wall behind them, bellies full. 

"Man, I needed that," Ryan groaned. It had been a long week.

"Same here," Akmazian agreed. Even Morpheus was full and pleased. He was curled up between the two of them, eyes closed and his tail flicking softly. "At least you have this little guy to relax with. I'm glad you like him."

"He's great." Ryan followed Akmazian and started petting Morpheus as well. Every now and then their fingers would brush as they traveled down his back. "Thanks for getting him for me. Or, more accurately, being pestered by my friends to get him for me."

Akmazian shrugged and smiled. "All in a day's work."

Ryan tilted his head at that, and decided to ask a question that had been bugging him for awhile. "Do I even want to know what Jane and Levi had to give you in return?"

Akmazian was silent. Ryan worried he really didn't want to know what they owed him in return, or maybe that question was inappropriate. 

"Nothing." The sudden answered jolted Ryan from his thoughts.

"What?"

"They didn't have to do anything in return for the cat."

Oh. That was surprising, to say the least. "Wow. I wasn't expecting that."

Akmazian chuckled. "Your friend Jane was certainly more than willing to repay me in her own...interesting way. I declined."

Ryan could tell from the tone of voice he definitely did not need further clarification. "Oh. Why?" He couldn't help asking. It didn't make sense. "Pets can't be easy to smuggle. I'm sure you could have gotten something out of it."

Akmazian pulled his hand away from the cat between them and used both to start packing up their empty plates and containers. "Your friends seemed pretty worried about you. So was I."

There was plenty of demonstratable research about how much petting an animal could calm a person. No one would guess it by how much Ryan's heart was racing at this moment. His feelings for Akmazian had only become more complicated, and learning he made such a selfless gesture for Ryan wasn't helping things.

"That's..um. That was really nice of you. Thanks." His second thank you was much more genuine now that he knew how warranted it was.

He was greeted by a sleazy smirk for his trouble. Akmazian raised his arms and put them behind his head. "Well it was pretty difficult. If you _really_ want to repay me, I have a few ideas."

"Oh ha ha," Ryan reached over and shoved him. "You're such a-" his insult was cut off by a huge yawn. Morpheus opened his eyes and glared at him.

Akmazian chuckled. "Sounds like you should be getting to bed."

Ryan couldn't help but agree. He stood up and grabbed the packed food containers. "I really should. Sorry I couldn't be better company."

"You were great company." Akmazian was standing as well now. They were looking at each other, both waiting for something.

Akmazian looked away toward Morpheus who was still snoozing on the floor. "Looks like this guy's sleepy as well."

Ryan bent to pick up his cat and hide the flush on his face. "Yeah. Actually," he began when upright again, "I wanted to talk to you about Morpheus."

"Oh?" Akmazian raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I was wondering, well. Like I mentioned earlier, I leave him in my quarters because I'm working most of the day, and I don't feel safe with him wandering around the station. I thought maybe every now and then I could bring him down here. If you want."

Akmazian was quiet again, and it was unnerving. He was always equipped with a witty remark or comeback, it unnerved Ryan to no end when he was silent.

"Maybe this was a dumb idea. You probably don't want to be bothered. I just...thought you could use the company. Sorry."

"No, actually," Akmazian began softly, "it's not a dumb idea at all. That would be nice."

Things felt weird between them again. Like the way they felt on the trip to help Dr. Urvidian, or earlier when he learned about the cat.

"Great," Ryan said, trying to talk over the awkwardness. "Good. So, uh, I guess I can bring him tomorrow before my shift starts? I'll bring some food and stuff too."

"Sounds like a date, Morpheus." Akmazian reached out and gave the cat one more scratch behind his ears. 

"Okay, well." Ryan shifted the items in his arms and turned his body slightly toward the exit. Akmazian dropped his hand away and put both in his pocket, stepping away from him. 

"See you tomorrow."

Ryan walked out of the cargo bay, Morpheus curled in his arms and that insistent, irritating fluttering in his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Akmazian lied about getting the cat for NOTHING. Yes, I will probably have Ryan find out what he wanted for it in a sequel.


End file.
